Supreme Court Seeking Applicants for State Bar Board of Trustees

SAN FRANCISCO—The California Supreme Court’s State Bar Trustees Nominating Committee is seeking qualified applicants for the court’s two appointments to the State Bar Board of Trustees in 2013. The deadline to apply is March 29, 2013 and the appointees will be sworn in at the State Bar Annual Meeting in October.

The State Bar Trustees Nominating Committee was established by the Supreme Court to assist it in selecting appointees to the State Bar Board of Trustees. The committee will solicit, receive, screen, and evaluate all applications for appointment or reappointment and make recommendations to the Supreme Court. Its organization and work is guided by Rule 9.90 of the California Rules of Court.

The court’s creation of both the rule and the committee follows legislation (SB 163) effective January 2, 2012, that changed the governance of the State Bar of California. The bar’s elected Board of Governors has been replaced by a Board of Trustees that ultimately will consist of 19 members, including five attorney members appointed by the Supreme Court. Under the new structure, the court appointed one trustee last year, will appoint two additional trustees this year, and will appoint two more trustees next year, for a total of five trustees appointed by the Supreme Court.

Applicants must be active members of the State Bar and have their principal place of business in California. The committee will consider applicants with a variety of experiences. The term of the appointments is three years and the appointments may be extended by the court for an additional three years, but members may not serve more than two consecutive full terms.

The Board of Trustees of the State Bar is charged with the Executive functions of the State Bar. Public protection is the highest priority of the board in exercising its licensing, regulatory, and disciplinary duties. The board meets approximately eight times a year to consider organizational, policy, and professional issues.

Pursuant to the legislation, the State Bar of California is charged with providing operational assistance to the committee. The State Bar’s Web site displays the Application Form, Board of Trustees Fact Sheet and Duties of Board Members documents. For more information or to request an application packet by mail, call 415-538-2279 or write to the Supreme Court Trustees Nominating Committee, care of the Executive Director’s Office, The State Bar of California, 180 Howard Street, 10th Floor, San Francisco, California 94105-1639. The fax number is 415-538-2305.